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One of the great parts of "The Switch" is seeing the great Jeff Goldblum work it onscreen in the supremely intelligent rant-mumble he has perfected over the years. It's a screen appearance we don't see enough of, especially with his "Law & Order" television obligations.

Even more amazing, Goldblum, who often revels playing morally dubious characters onscreen (to perfection), insisted on being a moral voice in this film which opened Friday. While audience members wait for Goldblum to work some weasel magic, he just keeps being a good friend and doing the right thing.

"It's so funny," co-director Josh Gordon tells PopcornBiz. "This is the guy holding the moral compass of the movie.""

Bringing Goldblum on board was a little stroke of luck. The filmmakers, shooting in New York City, looked him up on IMDB and noticed Goldblum shoots his "Law and Order" show in New York as well.

They went to visit the set and immediately noticed an entire season of "Arrested Development" DVDs in the dressing room. Considering that they were asking Goldblum to star alongside Jason Bateman (the star of "Arrested Development"), they knew they were in luck.

Bateman is also a big Goldblum fan, saying "he has the kind of career that any actor would dream of." Their onscreen chemistry and banter is undeniable.

One sticking point for the character that Goldblum wanted -- he didn't want his best-friend character to do to the dark side.

"That was important to him, that he wasn't a co-conspirator in the plot of the movie," co-director Will Speck tells us.

Goldblum pulls his part off to perfection with some of his scripted lines and some clear ad-libbing. And playing a decent guy is always a nice switch.

Published at 4:45 AM PDT on Aug 23, 2010 | Updated at 11:45 AM PDT on May 30, 2012